This list includes 22 Suffixes that start with S, from “-s” to “-sy”. These short, bound endings often mark plurals, adjectives, nouns, or verb forms and appear across formal and informal English. Use them when forming plurals, comparatives, agent nouns, or derivations in writing, teaching, and language study.
Suffixes that start with S are short, bound morphemes attached to stems to create new words or grammatical forms. Many come from Old English, Latin, or French, and suffixes like “-ship” show long-standing use in English.
Below you’ll find the table with origin, meaning and example words.
Origin: It shows the language or historical period the suffix comes from, helping you judge usage and tone.
Meaning: This gives a short, clear definition of the suffix’s contribution to word meaning or grammatical role.
Example words: Example words show two to four real words that use the suffix so you can see it in context.
Suffixes that start with S
| Suffix | Origin (language/period) | Meaning | Example words | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| –s | Old English | plural and 3rd-person singular verb ending | cats, runs, dogs | Extremely productive English inflectional suffix for plurals and 3rd-person verbs; ubiquitous in modern usage. |
| –st | Old English (archaic) | 2nd person singular verb ending (thou) | lovest, goest, hast | Archaic second-person singular verb ending; largely obsolete except in poetry, historical drama, and some dialectal survivals. |
| –ship | Old English | state, condition, office, skill | friendship, leadership, authorship | Very common derivational suffix forming abstract nouns of status, quality, office, or relationship; highly productive. |
| –sion | Latin/Old French | act, state, result (noun-forming) | tension, expansion, decision | Learned noun-forming suffix from Latin; orthographic variant of -tion in many words; widely attested and derivational. |
| –sis | Greek | process, state, medical/technical noun | analysis, crisis, paralysis | Classical Greek suffix common in science and medicine; moderately productive for technical coinages; derivational. |
| –sive | Latin | adjectival: inclined to, relating to | passive, extensive, cohesive | Adjectival suffix from Latin -ivus via French; very common in learned vocabulary; derivational. |
| –some | Old English | characterized by, causing (adjectival) | handsome, quarrelsome, burdensome | Productive adjectival suffix from Old English -sum; common in everyday and literary vocabulary; derivational. |
| –son | Old English/Old Norse | son of; patronymic element | Johnson, Anderson, Davidson | Common in surnames as a patronymic; historically productive in names, less so for new common nouns. |
| –ster | Old English | agent, inhabitant, role (originally agentive) | spinster, gangster, youngster | Originally agentive; now often colloquial or pejorative; still visible in historical and playful coinages. |
| –scope | Greek | instrument for viewing or field of study | microscope, periscope, horoscope | Combining form from Greek skopos; productive in technical and scientific compounds; derivational. |
| –scopy | Greek | act of viewing with an instrument | endoscopy, colonoscopy, microscopy | Medical/technical noun-forming suffix; highly productive in clinical and scientific vocabulary. |
| –saurus | Greek/Latin (taxonomy) | lizard; dinosaur genus ending | Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus | Taxonomic suffix from Greek sauros; standard in dinosaur and reptile genus names; specialized derivational use. |
| –side | Old English | location beside; area related to | bedside, riverside, seaside | Locative suffix forming nouns indicating position or area; productive in compounds and place names. |
| –scape | Middle English | view, scene, or conceptual domain | landscape, dreamscape, cityscape | Noun-forming element denoting a scene, setting, or domain; popular for creative coinages and metaphors. |
| –shire | Old English | county, region, administrative area | Yorkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire | Place-name suffix denoting a shire; common in British toponyms and regional names. |
| –self | Old English | reflexive or emphatic pronoun element | himself, herself, itself | Bound morpheme forming reflexive/emphatic pronouns; essential in modern English pronoun morphology. |
| –scent | Latin | becoming, beginning to be (adjectival) | iridescent, quiescent, fluorescent | From Latin -scens/-scent; forms adjectives meaning “becoming” or “in a state of”; common in learned vocabulary. |
| –sophy | Greek | wisdom, body of knowledge or doctrine | philosophy, theosophy, anthroposophy | Learned noun-forming suffix denoting systems of thought or knowledge; used in academic and spiritual terms. |
| –stasis | Greek | standing still, stable state (medical/scientific) | homeostasis, metastasis, cytostasis | Common in medical and scientific terms for stability or pathological states; specialized derivational suffix. |
| –stomy | Greek | surgical opening, creating an opening | colostomy, tracheostomy, gastrostomy | Medical surgical suffix forming names of operations that create openings; productive in clinical terminology. |
| –sclerosis | Greek | hardening (medical pathological suffix) | arteriosclerosis, osteosclerosis, atherosclerosis | Medical combining form meaning “hardening”; used in disease names; specialized and technical. |
| –sy | Modern English (colloquial) | informal diminutive or adjectival ending | Aussie, doggy, tipsy | Colloquial/informal adjectival or diminutive ending in casual speech and nicknames; variable productivity and spelling. |
Descriptions
–s
–st
–ship
–sion
–sis
–sive
–some
–son
–ster
–scope
–scopy
–saurus
–side
–scape
–shire
–self
–scent
–sophy
–stasis
–stomy
–sclerosis
–sy